All The Edmonton Gay Pride Info You Need

The History Of Gay Pride In Edmonton

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada is the 5th largest city in Canada with over 1 million residents in the metropolitan area. While Canada is considered a very liberal country, the province of Alberta (which Edmonton is the capital of) has the highest population of conservative voters. This hasn't stopped gay pride Edmonton events from happening since relative to other international cities, it is still very progressive despite the large conservative population. The tides are changing in this part of the country though since on May 5, 2015 the New Democrat Party, a social-democratic political party, gained their first majority government in Alberta after defeating the Progressive Conservative Party ending their 44 years on power. While this was an over all win for younger progressive liberals in the province that would bring about new blood in the provincial political system, it did not have much effect on the societal perception of homosexuality though. Canada is not a country that is in the dark when it comes to equality for all, instead they were one of the leaders in championing for gay rights around the world.

In July, 2005 the Canadian Parliament passed The Civil Marriage Act making Canada the 4th country in the world to legalize gay marriage. Although, Alberta was one of the last provinces to legalize gay marriage since it was legalized under the Civil Marriage Act federally. Most other Canadian provinces had legally recognized gay marriage in the years leading up to the July 2005 vote for the Civil Marriage Act. Alberta was probably the most vocal province in their opposition to the legislation. Conservative Alberta Premier Ralph Klein wanted to prevent same-sex marriages from being performed or recognized, and proposed a national referendum to allow the public to provide an answer to the question. This idea thankfully was rejected by all 4 national party leaders and when newly elected Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a native Albertan, was asked about the question he answered "I don't see reopening this question in the future". From June 2003, when the first gay marriage was legally performed in Canada (Ontario to be specific), October of 2006 when the issue was put to rest there were 409 same-sex marriages performed in Alberta. This number is higher on the list of provinces, but still a relatively number low compared to the top province of Ontario with 6,524 same-sex marriages performed during the same time period. Alberta still remains a more conservative province since a 2012 poll by Forum Research showed that 66.4% of Canadians approved of legalized gay marriage, while only 45.6% of Albertans (the lowest of any province) approved.

A Brief History Of Gay Pride Events in Edmonton

In Edmonton, they host the annual Edmonton Pride Festival every year in June and it is hosted by the non-profit organization Edmonton Pride Festival Society. The gay pride Edmonton parade is held in a different way than most other pride parades. They host the parade towards the beginning of the week long festivities to kick off the festival instead of hosting as the ending celebration to cap of the festival. Instead The gay pride Edmonton festival ends with a public brunch to cap of the week long festival. Another unique aspect of the Gay Pride Edmonton event is that they do not designate one individual person as the grand marshal for the parade. Instead they designate a community group to grand marshall the parade. In 2012 they chose the Edmonton Public School Board, and in 2013 they chose the Pride Centre of Edmonton, the main LGBT community center in the city. The festival has its origins in a protest movement against the police in May of 1981 after the police raided the Pisces Spa, a gay bathhouse in Edmonton. The first pride event was a small gathering of 75 people who participated in an outdoor picnic and a baseball game. The pride parade itself though wasn't a regular part of the festivities until the early 1990's. The festival now involves rallies, fairs, poetry readings, art shows, picnics, sports tournaments, film festival, an awards show, and the parade. The gay pride Edmonton parade in 2013 was a historic one in Canada since the gay pride Edmonton event kicked off on June 7th with the raising of the rainbow flag at The Edmonton Canadian Forces base. This was the first time in Canadian history where the rainbow flag had been flown on a military base. An estimated 30,000 people attended the gay pride Edmonton event that year.

Gay Lifestyle Resources In Edmonton

With the prominence of the Internet in today's society and the move towards a more progressive belief system, homosexuality has been much more openly accepted in the last decade. You can find entire sites that let you know what business' in your area want your business and won't discriminate, and instead want to proudly allow people of different lifestyles to shop at their stores or use their services. A few of these online resources for gay pride Edmonton are included below.

Edmonton Rainbow Business Association

Edmonton Rainbow Business Association is a registered non-profit society, serving Edmonton's LQBTQ's community. The association provides information about LGBTQ friendly business' in the area who are accepting and open to serving all types of people. You can use the sites directory as a guide to find any type of service you need. All of the businesses who are part of the ERBA have made a statement by being part of a group that is vocal in saying they are willing to provide their products and services to men and women of all types and support Edmonton gay pride. If you have a business in Edmonton, you can join the ERBA for a $75 annual membership fee, and be part of a progressive association that is focused on the future societal landscape.

Pride Centre Of Edmonton

Pride Centre Of Edmonton is the official gay pride centre in Edmonton that has all the information on gay pride Edmonton you could need. The also have a large directory of gay friendly businesses in Edmonton. They also have a directory of Alberta resources outside of Edmonton if you need information for other cities in the province. The centre should be your go to resource for anything related to living a gay lifestyle in Edmonton. They have all of the information you could need when it comes to gay pride, and all of their information can be found below.

Information On Gay Pride Events In Edmonton

Edmonton has an annual Edmonton Pride Festival, and we have all the info about the event below, as well as some other Gay Pride events that happen in and around the city of Edmonton. We have all the resources you need to find everything you need to know about Gay Pride Edmonton.

Edmonton Pride

Edmonton Pride is the annual Edmonton Gay Pride festival organized by the Edmonton Pride Festival Society, which was formed in 1999. The festival has been happening since 1980 and now includes rallies, fairs, art shows, picnics, poetry reading, sports tournaments, a film festival, an awards show, and of course the Gay Pride Edmonton parade. All of the links to the gay pride Edmonton events are listed below.

Edmonton Pride Run & Walk

Edmonton Pride Run & Walk is a 5km run and walk non-profit event promoting access to inclusive fitness and highlighting the diversity of the LGBTQ community. The event was established in 2015, by Joshua Bergman and Kent Akgungor, as a 100% volunteer-led non-profit event. The goals of the event are "to promote and highlight diversity in the Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Trans Identified-Two Spirit-Queer (LGBTQ) community and its allies. The event was created as an inclusive running event that is welcoming of everyone, and where diversity is celebrated. They also want to promote healthy and active living within the LGBTQ community, and raise money in support of educational opportunities for LGBTQ individuals. The event truly is for everyone since they want anyone, wether its to take a casual walk or to push themselves, to join and celebrate. You can get an entire history of past Edmonton Pride Run & Walk right here.

The Future Of Edmonton Gay Pride

The 2015 Gay Pride Edmonton event was attended by a record number of people in 2015, including the now Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, and will only continue to get larger in the future. The Edmonton Pride festival is planned for June 3-12 this year in 2016. The parade and festival will go on indefinitely into the future and will only grow in the years to come. Alberta still has the lowest approval rating when it comes to the subject of same-sex marriage with only 45.6% of residents approving. Alberta is still home to the highest population of conservative voters, who are typically the most opposed to same-sex marriages, so it will remain slightly behind the times it seems. There are always more events starting that are gay friendly, and more will continue to be created in the years to come. The gay culture is only growing since society is becoming more open to the ideas of equality. In most major cities across North America is has become the popular opinion that homosexual men and women should be given all the same rights as hetero men and women, if you believe in the opposing opinions, you are now outside the social zeitgeist. The opposition will only get smaller while the acceptance will only grow larger. It's a great time to be living as a homosexual in Canada and it will only get better in the years to come.

Especially now since the more right wing conservative government has lost their position in Parliament, and we now have young fresh blood with our new Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. Justin's father Pierre Elliot-Trudeau, began the movement for equal right way back in 1967, and his son has always been a vocal supporter of equal rights for all Canadians, and continues the fight to do so until this day.

You can find out everything about gay marriage and gay pride Canadahere and read about gay pride in cities all over Canada. Manplay.com is your best source for everything related to living a gay lifestyle, and can even help you find a guy where ever you are.